Tuesday, May 22, 2012

SPRUCING UP THE PATIO

On Sunday, after several years of saying "I wish we had a table & chairs back here" we jumped in the car and drove around town to find something that would fit our needs.

1. Not too big
2. Not too expensive
3. Not too grandma

What's that, you say? Not too grandma? What does that even mean, you wonder.

You know those old, tan, leathered grandmas down in Florida who wear bright white tennis shoes and sun visors made of clear colored plastic? In my mind they always have patio sets that look like their giant RVs. Huge, padded, floral.

Yeah, we don't want any of that.

First we went to Cost Plus World Market. They had a lot of really cute accessories, and several different options for patio furniture, but it all seemed cheaply made and it was pretty expensive. To get the table, chairs, and umbrella we wanted we were looking at over $600 with tax.

Then we went to Ikea because, well ... Ikea is the other kind of cheap, and we like that kind. They had a lot of good options as well, ranging from cheaply made to somewhat solid construction. I hemmed and hawed about getting an expandable table made from acacia wood but it wasn't very sturdy at all and the chairs were even less comfortable.

We decided to go to OSH as we had been there the weekend before and I saw a handful of patio sets. When we got there we saw a wrought iron table & chair set that was marked down to $300 as it was the last one. We went inside and didn't love any of the sets they had on hand, especially at the prices they were offering. The wrought iron set out front met a lot of our initial requirements so we decided to get it. The lady at customer service also gave us a 20% off one item coupon so it was even cheaper - score! Unfortunately when we went to put it in the Highlander we realized the 52" table was broken. The man helping us called to the back and they had another on hand for us. It wasn't until we got home that we realized they gave us a 44" to replace the 52" but in hindsight it's fine as I'm not sure we necessarily had the room.

Last night after work we decided to grill up some buffalo steaks and kale & collards from the garden and have dinner alfresco. It was awesome! I can't believe we've lived here nearly six years and it has taken us this long to get to this point. We still have a lot of work to do - landscaping and cleaning, and maybe someday even a new deck - but for now it's nice to sit outside on a warm evening with a glass of wine and chat. I can't wait to pick up an umbrella so that maybe I can even work outside at times.

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ABOUT US

Welcome to casacaudill - I'm Becky and the handsome man to my left is my husband of 12 years, Alan. We are shamelessly and ruthlessly ruled by our 14-year-old Himalayan, Dakota. We live in Oakland, CA, and we both work in technology. When people ask us what our hobbies are, we often wonder if eating & drinking qualifies, since we're quite adept at both. I fancy myself a pretty decent cook and Alan is an excellent sous chef and dishwasher. Zinfandel is our drink of choice, but we've also never met a whiskey or bourbon we didn't like. My greatest passions in life are reading and traveling and my favorite places on earth are Hanalei, Kauai, County Kerry, Ireland, Islay, Scotland, and Tofino, British Columbia. If you want to know more, drop me a line at becky@casacaudill.com.